Counter Measures
by Batman and Ronon
Summary: An average day in the Dollhouse.. for now. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Los Angeles, the city of Angels, so to speak. From a distance it looked beautiful, a modern haven, with nothing left to be desired. Bu get closer and you'll see the pain, the frustration, the shame. From the view of a casual observer, it seemed like anarchy, a disease in serious need of treatment. But to its citizen's, this was as good as it got. There was no black or white. It was grey. Perhaps they were good people before they got here, but the city tainted them. If you mix a little black with white it will turn grey. And no matter how much white you mix in there, you'll always have grey.

But Deep below the bowels of the city laid the Dollhouse. Everyone had desires and the Dollhouse was designed to cater for those needs, namely the needs of the rich and powerful. Unlike the streets of LA, the Dollhouse was very definitely split into two factions. The good and bad. The right and the wrong. Black and white.

Programmable people, it seemed absurd, a total violation human rights. Those opinions would be mostly spot on. Only it wasn't absurd, it was happening, right under the noses of everyone.

"Did I fall asleep?" Topher smiled, clasping his hands behind his back, stepping towards the chair. e HAfter months of programming the 'Dolls' and then snatching those memories right back out, he'd gotten used to the usual cold tone the 'Doll's' used.

"For a little while." But could he really blame them? They'd been taken from their lives and had their entire personalities wiped. This was all done voluntarily of course, not that the government would see them eye to eye on that.

Letting Echo sit up, Topher had already began tinkering with the chair she was sitting in, the same chair that could give and take memories with the flick of a switch… or a dozen. Exhaling calmly, Echo let a small, warm smile cross her lips, speaking in a low, almost monotonous manner. "Shall I go now?"

Taking the wedge out of the chair, Topher made his way over to a cluster of machines, all chirping harmoniously in the background, not even bothering to look over his shoulder as he replied. "If you'd like." Slotting the wedge into one of the machines, he clicked his fingers, grinning widely as a light flashed as if congratulating him on another successful job, well done. And of course as if the universe was restoring karma, Mr. Dominic stepped into the room, pushing his way past Echo as if she were nothing more than dirt on the bottom of his shoe.

Stepping out of his way, Echo smiled apologetically, as if it was her fault Dominic had walked straight into her. Pushing the door open slowly and sauntering her way out of the office she placed one of her hands on the banister, her footfalls light and barely audible as she made her way across the walkway. Turning her head to look out over the walkway, her long brown hair, hanging loosely around her shoulders, Echo caught Victor's gaze. The two of them stopped in their tracks at the same time, as if having a procedure drilled into them. Raising her left hand she gave him a small wave, her smile widening as he returned the gesture. From behind her, she could hear the faint sounds of voices raising, a pair of silhouettes, scurrying past the tinted windows on the double doors.

Victor lowered his hand, moving his eyes to follow Echo's gaze, his brow furrowing as the shouts began ringing out across the entire room. As the pair of silhouettes exited the fully tinted room and entered the fully glassed room, Victor finally caught sight of the two people in question.

*

Placing his hands on the banister, Laurence Dominic sighed heavily, his fists gripping the banister tightly. He hated everything about Topher, from the day he'd met him he knew they weren't going to get along. It didn't help that Topher seemed to have that ridiculous grin plastered onto his face. Twisting his hands around the banister as if he were imagining it was Topher's neck, Dominic began grinding his teeth together, venting his frustration out. "Dom.. can I call you Dom?" Raising his hand and glancing over his shoulder to object, Topher continued without even giving him chance to open his mouth. "I think you're over exaggerating, I did my job perfectly, I was given faulty information. And whose fault is that? Not mine."

Spreading his arms wide and walking towards the banister, Topher stepped as if he were a God among men, which in the Dollhouse was for the most part true. "You programmed him to speak French and sent him to a Russian conference." Dominic snarled.

"Foxtrot always seems to have a problem with languages." Topher shrugged his shoulders, smiling weakly as Dominic shook his head and chewed his lip, hanging his hands loosely over the side of the banister.

Even if Topher wasn't going to admit it, it was his fault. And everyone knew Dominic was gonna got an earful from Adelle for it. "Just fix it."

Topher scoffed and pushed himself away from the banister, watching as Dominic exited the room and strode across the walkway, towards the elevators. Saluting Dominic as he stepped into the elevator, Topher exhaled deeply, stepping back into the tinted room. "Aye, aye."


	2. Chapter 2

He always said it might hurt a little a smile formed On sierra's lips as she lowered herself into the chair, leaning her head back. And he always come over, giving her the 'thumbs up' as he would call it before everything went black. He was the last thing she saw before she fell into the darkness, and he was always there to pull her out of it. "Just make yourself comfortable, before you know it you'll be like Lara Croft meets James Bond." Giving Topher one last smile, Sierra placed her head back against the cold hard metal of the chair.

Topher parted his lips, flashing Sierra a toothy grin as he stepped back towards one of the computers. Following his hand with her eyes, she threw her head back as he clicked a button. Images flashed through her head, all of them swimming around in front of her, before without warning they all dived towards her, pounding their way into her skull. Shutting his eyes tightly she parted her lips, the last coherent thought going through her head being that soon she'd wake up to Topher's face and everything would be fine.

*

"I'm concerned about one active's Boyd." _Well you always are concerned about something._ Pulling the doors to Dr. Saunders office open, Boyd and Dominic stepped out, Boyd's gaze wandering onto Dominic, noticing the disgust in his eyes. Or was it pity? Since the day he'd started, Laurence Dominic was the one person in this establishment Boyd couldn't figure out. In fact he felt closer to Echo than he did to Dominic. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket Boyd glanced back out into the main floor. Dominic however had taken a different stance, instead folding his arms, his cold steely gaze, locking onto each doll as they passed as if wanting them to make a move against him. "It's Lima."

"Lima?" Boyd, frowned and looked down at the floor for a second, sifting through each active in his mind. Finally getting his image in his mind, his frown deepened and he turned his attention back to Dominic. "Lima's new isn't he? Came in last month?" Dominic nodded is head, his eyes still locked on the dolls as they passed by, his weight shifting from one foot to the another, almost as if he were tensing. "He's had 7 assignments or so, all of them very successful if the reports are correct." Noting that Dominic shook his head rather violently, Boyd's eyebrows raised. "The reports aren't correct?"

"Oh no, the reports are correct. They're just missing a few facts." Having placed his hands on the wall, Dominic pushed himself from it, stepping towards the stairs, the fact he hadn't even asked Boyd to follow him crossing his mind.

*

"So where's this artifact now?" Chuckling sheepishly, Topher led Sierra, or Ashleigh Kane, towards the door, pushing it open for her a standing by it. He found it odd and strangely empowering that Dewitt usually let Topher be the first person these personalities talk to, most of the time he didn't even know what the date was.

"Well that's why we hired you." Giving her a curt nod, he gave her a wave as she left the room without so much of a goodbye or a thank you. Thinking of ways he could implement that to be mandatory he barely even registered she'd gone and had already found her way to the elevator. "I could use a juice box right about now." And with that he re-entered his office, letting the door close itself behind him.

*

Swallowing another mouthful of pasta, Victor lifted his head, catching Echo's attention as he watched Sierra leave, the elevator doors sliding shut on her. "Where do you think Sierra's going?" Echo shrugged lightly, a frown crossing her lips as she lifted her drink, taking a small sip.

"I'm sure she'll be okay." Shrugging his own shoulders in an almost identical manner, Victor lowered his gaze back down to his food, not entirely convinced by Echo. He looked out for her; he should be there shouldn't he?

"Hello Victor. Hello Echo." Victor found himself dragged out of his thoughts as the woman spoke, looking up at her. Echo did the same, placing her glass down, cocking her head to the side slightly as she did.

"Hello." They said in unison, their dry but somewhat soothing tone greeting her warmly. Adelle Dewitt didn't usually socialise with Echo, or any of the other actives, but Mr. Dominic had expressed his concerns numerous times and she felt the need to address those concerns. Echo spoke up, her eyes moving from her to the empty seat by them. "Would you like to join us?"

If it were on of her colleagues, Adelle probably wouldn't have found the time or patience to indulge herself, but with the dolls she felt a deep need to look over them. Pulling the seat out and lowering herself into it, she nodded, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Thank you." Perhaps she was becoming to attached to the dolls, perhaps she was scared if she didn't pay enough attention, she might have another incident like Alpha on her hands. "So, how are you both feeling?"

*

Dominic knew he was right. He was always right. I mean he knew Topher was a cretin and the evidence of that was pretty plain to see. So why couldn't he convince Boyd about Lima. He wasn't going to take it up with Adelle again, she'd only rebuke him. Curling his lip, he paced up and down the corridor, his eyes constantly shifting from one direction to the other as if he were paranoid. "It's right in front of you Boyd. Over the past six assignments, Lima has been continually behind deadline. And I'm not just talking a couple of minutes, I'm talking hours. Dewitt says all clients are entitled to as long as they need within reason but some of these timetables are beyond a joke."

Boyd's expression was growing more sceptical by the second, which only added to Dominic's problem, if he couldn't get through to Adelle or Boyd, who could he? Shaking his head and sighing in frustration, he stopped in his tracks. "Do you realise that on at least three out of eight assignments that Lima's handler as lost track of him. Three times. One minute he's at the assignment location the next he just drops off the radar." Arching an eyebrow, Boyd's expression changed slightly, obviously intrigued by this new piece of information. Dominic had him now.

"Define, off the radar?"


	3. Chapter 3

A brilliant flash of light shone out as her eyes shot open. Blinking several times for good measure, Mellie lifted her head, the ominous yet strangely familiar surroundings coming into view as she adjusted to the light levels. "Hey Mel. Mellie McMel."

Turning her head, Mellie grinned warmly. "Hey." She replied, giggling quietly.

Topher returned the grin as he stepped over to her patting her handler on the shoulder. "Guess you wanna take it from here." Biting his lip, Topher glanced between the two. Without saying a word, Mellie stood and glided to the door, exiting quickly, her handler not far behind. "Alright, you kids have fun." Turning on his heel, Topher ran a hand through his hair, almost jumping across the room as he bumped into Victor standing directly behind him. "Son of a bitch…"

Unsure of what to make of Topher's outburst, Victor nodded his head slowly a smile forming on his lips. "Hello." He said plainly.

Standing in silence for a few moments, Topher's eyebrow arched, spreading his hands slightly. "Did you want something?"

Victor seemed to wake out of some sort of trance as Topher spoke, replying calmly. "No."

Taking aback by the comment Topher opened his mouth to say something, finding he was speechless. "Why don't you go paint something?" Shaking his head and frowning, Topher held his hands in front of him ushering Victor out of the room.

The prospect of doing, any sort of activity finally seeming to dawn on him, Victor left the room. Now having completely forgotten what he was going to do, Topher turned around to find Adelle standing before him, a scowl planted firmly on her lips. "Oh no."

"Oh yes. We need to chat." Obviously not in the mood for Topher's hijinks, Adelle's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. "It's about Echo?"

"What about her? Was it something I did, did I do something wrong." Topher seemed almost in a panic.

Adelle waved her hand dismissively, quickly putting an ease his worrying. "No it's nothing you did; well I hope it isn't anything you did. It's actually about her performance in assignments."

"As in?" Topher replied with hesitation.

"As in, her initiative to do what she thinks is best, rather than what we program her to think is best." Her voice was even and not at all menacing, despite what most seemed to think of her. "Mr. Dominic has a few concerns over her." Topher scoffed, earning himself a sharp glare from Adelle. "I'm taking her off assignments for the time being, just so we can keep an eye on her."

"Sure, so if she comes up here and asks if she can play with the chair, I should send her to the naughty step." Gaining his confidence again, he grinned widely.

"Whatever's easiest."

*

"Okay, say if I believe you, what do you want me to do about it?" Boyd and Dominic had been at this case for hours now. It usually took a lot for Boyd's beliefs on anything he thought were fact to change.

"I want you to follow Lima on his next assignment. Take over as his handler; pull as many strings as you need to." Dominic seemed almost anxious for Boyd's next words.

Boyd folded his arms, his teeth grinding along each other lightly. "Alright." He answered quickly.

The two men headed down the corridor and out into the main room. Placing a hand on Lima's shoulder, Dominic dragged him up from his seat with more force than was needed, pulling him along behind him. "We're going for a treatment, doesn't that sound fun?"

"Yes." Lima replied happily, a snarl finding its way past Dominic's lips.

"That was rhetorical, shut up."

*

Everything was so cold; the world felt like it was giving way beneath her feet. Catching brief glimpses of people rushing over to her and then things whizzing past, as her eyes struggled to remain open she bit her lip fiercely, holding back the tears, threatening to spill out. There was a deep pain in her stomach but she couldn't quite focus herself enough to recall what it was. The next time she opened her eyes she found herself staring up at a ceiling of some sort, a low whirring sound in the background. Suddenly she heard a pair of doors slide open and was dragged out of the small room. Looking down at one of her hands she noticed blood stained it.

"Oh my God, what happened?!" She craned her neck as she heard the voice cry out from behind her, stumbling into a chair. If she thought she was in pain now, it was nothing compared to the sudden jolt that surged through her as the chair lit up.

"Sierra? Can you hear me?"


	4. Chapter 4

He always said it might hurt a little, but this was different. Everything was so hazy, every time she tried to get something into focus, a blinding pain would shoot through her, causing a scream to erupt from her throat. Lifting her hands she thrashed out wildly at anything, wanting to grip onto something and hold on for dear life. She could hear voices around her, and a fierce grip on her shoulder and another much lighter grip on her hand. Tearing herself away from the hand on her shoulder, she pushed herself fully against the person holding onto her hand, her eyes flashing open, needing the pain to go away. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced, a complete loss of coherence. Her last thought before she blacked out was that she hoped Topher wasn't mad that she wasn't her best.

*

It had all seemed to happen so fast. He'd heard something coming from the elevator and as the doors slid open, it felt like someone had grabbed his insides and twisted them. Standing up, Victor's mouth had dropped as he saw Sierra being dragged from the elevator. There was blood everywhere. But Sierra, couldn't have been hurt, she was never hurt, he had to protect her.

*

Literally having had to drag Lima up the stairs towards the chair room, Dominic was glad to finally throw him down into the chair. Clicking his fingers impatiently at Topher, Dominic spoke. "Get on with the imp-," raising his head as the doors flew open, his eyes widened as Sierra's bloodied body was carried in. "What the hell happened?!" Grabbing Lima with his hand Dominic quickly lifted him out of the chair, tossing him to one side. "Go swimming or something!"

Not giving Lima a second thought, Dominic took a step back as Sierra screamed, making him wince. He didn't usually show compassion to any of the dolls, but this was painful to watch. This house was broken and he seemed to be the only one who saw it.

*

As Claire Saunders flicked through yet another series of files, she exhaled heavily. Maybe she should het some rest. Well that was about all she did, she mused to herself. "Sierra can you hear me?"

Hearing shouts from above her, she glanced up at the ceiling, her lips parting and her eyebrows arching. Stepping towards the door, her eyes remaining fixed upon the origin of the shouting. As she backed out of her office, a high pitched scream rang out, causing Claire to gasp sharply. As more shouts rang out, she ran towards the stairs, making her way up them as quickly as she could, almost bumping directly into Lima as he came down the stairs. Apologising quickly she sidestepped out of his way and pushed the doors to the chair room open. Her eyes immediately fixed on Sierra, an obvious wound in her stomach, blood oozing out profusely. "Oh my God. What happened?"

Topher turned away from the computers, his mind racing from all that was happening. Keeping his attention focused on Sierra, as she tossed and turned in the chair, he replied to Claire. "She was shot on an assignment." Kneeling down in front of Sierra, he grimaced as he saw the blood continuing to pour out. Taking her hand in his he moved it over the wound, pressing it down to attempt to the flow of blood. Suddenly without warning she seemed to lunge forward, her hands clawing at him, quickly holding her frame against his.

Dominic and Claire exchanged a questioning look between each other, Topher's own expression very much the same. Not sure how to react he lifted his head to meet Claire's gaze, mouthing, what do I do?

Stepping towards the two, Claire placed her arms around Sierra's shoulders, pulling her gently back into the chair to lie down, having to use considerable force to drag her away from Topher. "Sierra, look at me, Sierra." Smiling weakly as Sierra cast her gaze onto her, she brushed a strand of her from her face. "Maybe you should get some rest."

Placing her hands over her stomach, Topher took his own hands away, finding that they were shaking and covered in blood. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes for a moment, exhaling deeply. "I need to sit down… get a juice box." Stepping back from Sierra he collapsed into a chair by some computers.

Dr. Saunders, spoke up quietly. "I'll go get something to fix that wound." Dominic quickly left the room with Claire, both going their separate ways, leaving Topher with Sierra. He had no idea what had just happened between the two of them, but he safely say that was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do.

******

Yes it turns out I'm a Topher/Sierra shipper. I'm just weird like that.

Anyway this chapter didn't quite turn out how I wanted it to but hopefully the next couple of chapters will start to pick up with the whole Lima storyline.

Remember R&R.


	5. Chapter 5

Barely an hour into the job, Dominic had decided that undercover work was one of the dullest jobs he'd ever participated in. Delving his hand into the bag of peanuts, he stuffed them into his mouth, passing the bag to Boyd who did the same. Glancing at his watch, Dominic sighed, turning his attention back to the house that Lima was in. For the past couple of weeks, the two of them had been tailing Lima to each one of his assignments in the hopes that they'd find some answers to explain his disappearances. Unfortunately every time they had followed him, he'd never once gone off script. He'd fulfilled the job to the best of his capabilities and left on time, so either Lima was very clever or they were on a wild goose chase.

"I think it's time we gave this a rest Mr. Dominic." Turning his head towards Boyd, Dominic shrugged his shoulders, nodding his head slowly in agreement. He was sure he was right about Lima; the evidence was plain to see.

Jumping slightly as his cell phone rang, he reached into his pocket, flipping it open and pressing it to his ear. "Hello?"

"It's Adelle, are you still tailing Lima?"

"Yes, but it seems like we've hit a dead end, we're just about to give it up actually."

"Don't bother; it seems that three other actives have gone missing almost simultaneously on their last assignment."

Leaning forward in his seat, Dominic's interest seemed to peak, his tone becoming a little more serious. "What do you need me to do?"

*

There used to be a time Sierra would welcome an opportunity for a treatment, if only for the fact she got to see Topher. But now Topher wouldn't even look at her, she never even saw him laugh anymore. _Was he ashamed of her?_ _Had she let him down somehow? Was she not her best? _Her head had been racked with these notions ever since she'd been shot. Physically her wounds had healed, but they were a lot deeper on a emotional level. As Sierra approached the chair attempted to catch Topher's attention by giving him a small wave and a warm smile. Her efforts however seemed pointless as he turned away from her, giving her little less than a nod for her trouble. Despite the fact that it had been her who had been shot, Topher seemed to be taking this harder than anyone else.

As Topher worked silently on the computers, barely even registering she was there, Sierra seated herself in the chair, a growing sense of anxiety washing over her as the chair began to lower. Flashes of the incident that had occurred weeks ago, flashed through her mind, still as fresh as the day it had happened. Taking in a deep breath, she gulped down hard, gripping onto the sides of the chair, just wanting to get it over with. The chair lit up and she allowed herself to fall into the darkness. Only it didn't come, instead she was assaulted with images of the events that unfolded as she'd been shot.

Hearing a faint sigh of pain behind him followed by some shuffling, Topher glanced over his shoulder. Furrowing his brow as Sierra struggled in the chair, light moans and grunts escaping her lips; Topher strode towards the chair, tapping a few buttons. Something wasn't right; the procedure should have finished by now but it looked like she was fighting it, her own mind pushing away the new personality trying to imprint itself.

Her head felt like it was going to implode, on one side, the images of her incident seemed to grow in intensity, sending sparks of pain literally surging through her body, causing involuntary muscle spasms. On the other side it felt like a sledgehammer was banging against her head, desperately seeking entrance, only to be impeded by the images that lashed out, keeping it at bay. It was too much, she had no grounding, nothing to hold onto.

As he thrashing increased, he realised that she was fighting a losing battle, if this continued he could lose her. Not about to watch as she approached her own doom again, Topher, worked furiously at his console, his fingers dancing over the controls, like it was his own life at stake. The hum of the chair faded out and the lights flickered off, leaving a deeply distraught Sierra laying its wake.

Just as everything seemed to be reaching its climax, everything seemed to fall away, her mind beginning to clear itself. Without a single ounce of strength left in her body, Sierra barely even managed to sit up, her eyes struggling to stay open, a great weight seemingly being put on her shoulders alone.

"Sierra?"

As his voice called out to her, a beacon of hope seemed to shine out from her. Using all of her might to look up, she gazed up at Topher, a genuine look of concern on his face. This was the most emotion he'd shown her in weeks, and it felt good. Words at this point wouldn't be able to convey the many feelings she had at this time. As a single tear rolled down her cheek, she bit down on her lip, lowering her head and turning away, her hair falling down around her face and covering it, not wanting him to see her like this. Picking herself up from the chair unsteadily, she turned away from him as more tears began to fall, burying her face in one of her hands. She had to pull herself together, this was her chance to make things right with him, and she was squandering that opportunity. Sniffing loudly, she shook her head, deciding to get out while she could and save herself the further embarrassment. As she placed her hand on the door handle she felt a light touch on her shoulder, the warmth from his body closing in on hers, his soft breath tickling her neck, causing goose bumps to rise all over her. Slowly turning to face him, her breathing began to hitch slightly, her heart racing as he placed his other hand around her back. Raising both of her arms and draping them around his neck naturally, the gap between them quickly closed. Turning her head to the side she buried her face in his shoulder, weeping quietly into it. And she knew in that moment, that he'd never let her get hurt again.


End file.
